Amazingly Simple Free Filament Dryer -You already have one!

Great video Ricky - Straight to the point and no fluff. Proper. You've got another subscriber now.

what would be the ideal temperature for PETG and PLA? (fastest drying without making the filament stick together if that makes sense)

im kind of new into 3d printing but im in charge of the 3D printer at my office. is it correct that: I can store my filaments by just letting them sit in a drawer without a plastic bag or anything and once i want to use a filament i can put it in a dehydrator overnight and use it the next morning as good an new? Can I repeat this process over and over again? Because we have a lot of different filaments this way i only have to buy a dehydrator. Im using various Filaments (PLA, ABS, TPU, Nylon, PA-GF)
Thanks!

dude I almost finished my dryer and well, its more complicated than it should xd
so yeah, your idea is genial in its simplicity.
gonna use your measuring method to verify how good my behemoth is
stay safe

I think there might be a critical flaw in your comparison technique with a the wet sponge... If the sponge has a significantly higher water content than the air around it, then air movement is going to be the primary driver for how quickly it dries out (the evaporation is going to be limited by the water content in the air immediately around the sponge). Think of it this way... if we have a wet sponge and put it in a small sealed box but heat it up, the sponge isn't going to dry out nearly as quickly and will eventually hit a point where it is no longer drying at all as the air becomes saturated (jungle environment). However if I put it on a table with a fan blowing air over it, it will dry out very quickly and eventually become stable moisture content with the air around it. You see this in practice with buildings that get water damage. Circulating air through the building is a much better way to dry things out than to just heat the inside of the building up. With filaments however, we want them to be much drier than the ambient air around them and they typically start out below the ambient moisture content, so the air flow technique doesn't really work. We are also trying to remove much less water as a percent of the total material than a wet sponge, which is why it becomes necessary to do things other than just blow air over them. So with dryer boxes, we take cool air with low moisture content then heat it up to allow it to hold more water. The air then slowly draws that small amount of water out of the filament. If needed, you can gradually change this water saturated air out for fresh air if there is enough water content in the material you're trying to dry to saturate the air, but the actual amount of water in "wet" filament is actually very very small. Anyway, my point is that the wet sponge test is going to give very misleading results when comparing ways to get an already dry material significantly below ambient moisture levels, and also why your wet sponge results are directly in line with which methods allow for the maximum amount of airflow.

This shit doesnt work

This is an awesome idea, what do you think of storing filament in the cardboard boxes they come in with Dry Dry desiccation packs vs using a dry box.

Tried this with some TPU filament I had. In 12 hrs, it went from 641g to 632g. A wireless temp/humidity sensor said outside the box was 43% humidity, inside the box was 15% humidity.

Could people with airing cupboards just leave their filament in there to dry?

I like the sick voice better tbh. hahaha

OK, there are no stupid questions, so:
Why not to use a kitchen oven with a fan? (all of them have it)
You can set temp to ~70 deg no problem, turn on the fan and keep the door a bit open to ensure the convection.

Thanks for the helpful tips bro. I was thinking, if the cardboard lighting on fire is a worry, would printing a box with the holes on top and gaps in the bottom be a good solution?

I just got a 3D printer a few days ago and I am so using this!

This is genius! I saw this video first when I didn’t have a printer yet and I just haven’t stopped thinking about it!

Doesn’t 70c start to melt/deform the filament?

Nice idea, I tried it and it does work. Trouble is, my 3D printer (Prusa i3 mK3) has a "safety timer", so if I set the bed to run as you suggest, it cuts out after half an hour. Presumably that timer is there for a reason, so it seems the printer manufacturer doesn't recommend running the bed for long periods without printing. If the heater element needs replacing sooner, I wonder how the cost of that compares with buying a filament dryer?

Thank you, I will try this after my print is finished. This esun pla+ i'm using behaves like it came wet from the factory...

Not gonna lie your videos probably like the best one out there on DIY trying out your filament. I always reference people to it.

What temperature and time would you use for PLA?

Great video. Thanks

I have a printer with a heated bed and enclosure... I'm going to see if I can get away with just setting the spool on the heated bed and turning the exhaust fan on "high".

My go-to for filament drying has been a thrift-store slow cooker on "warm".

My wife uses a garden germinator heating pad for bread proofing. I imagine it would also work well for dehumidifying my filament - I'll try it out.

To be honest, I have my roll of pla+ hanging for more than 30 days, but I have no issues other than it breaks at stress bends near the nozzle and fillament sensors.

Yeah, but I don’t want to tie up my printer by drying filament with it. I want to print with it.

Honestly, Genius!!
May not be the best for Nylon but a solution is a solution!

I’m just getting into 3D Printing and it gets overwhelming with so many people saying you need to also do XYZ and rack up the costs but then I stumble upon people like you who actually have great solutions and are affordable

Me and my wallet thank you

´now this is thinking outside of the box

What if I tell you you cannot dry the filament in this whay and print at the same time :)

Thank you!! I'm going to give it a go

I just came here to say that not all heroes wear capes, but I’d chip in for a cape for you if you wanted one. Because you’ve earned it.

🙂❤❤❤

I got one for Christmas why couldn't i watch this video a month ago?

I usualy vape where my printer prints... Which it NOT good for the filament so i'm defenetely gonna do this

I did this! I had two failed prints and didn't know why...on one printer the filament (PLA) broke and got stuck in the tube. Not knowing my filament needed to be dried, I moved it over to my second printer and restarted my print. The filament was being shredded going into the extruder (swollen) and broke again. I asked in a social media group what was going on..someone told me to dry my filament. I don't have a dryer so I Googled how to do it without one...and found your video. I gave it a try...and the next day the filament printed flawlessly! Thank you so much!!!!

Get a BBG mesh, (glass fiber with teflon coating?) and put it on the bed. That will lift everything up slightly from direct contact with the heating elements and provide a little bit of airflow. Would have to be very hot indeed before cardboard would catch fire. Problem solved :)

Thank you SO MUCH!!! I was about to buy some very expensive equipment, or stuff my PETG into the oven before I saw this. Since I have an old Ender 3 I rarely ever use anymore, this has just become my drying station!!! Thanks SO MUCH!!! I'm surprised this hasn't been taken down yet, I know there's going to be a lot of very rich people that are very pissed off if this info takes off within the 3D hobbyist community lol

I "built" this yesterday and I was quite amazed how good this works. I had a wet roll of PETG which came very wet from the factory. I couldn't even finish my calibration prints, it was popping all the time and the models just crumbled. Let it sit on the bed at 65C ovenight and it now prints great.
I already have 28 of your dryboxes made, so thank you for those also. I use the 5l variant of the storage box because I don't use the somewhat big dehumidifiers but rather silica in Nylon "Organza" Bags.
Thanks a lot, you made my life easier!

Perfect!!

Ad block and Sponcerblock are amazing!

As someone who is just now getting into 3d printing, thank you sooo much for this. I surely would have went out and purchased a filament dryer sooner or later and this just saves me money and space.

haha "from testing"

I can't relate with this problem because I live in desert XD

I thought I was the only one doing this. I have been doing this for about 3 years. Since i have a couple extra enders it works great.

Cardboard isn't flammable at 70°C, don't worry. It's ignition point is 233°C (which may vary slightly depending on composition btu not to the point of getting down to 70)

A freaking great idea! Thanks a lot

what about leaving the box closed without any outakes but adding desiccant? in theory it should be faster that way since the humidity will be constantly removed from the air and the heat will be mantained more uniformly

As someone who has never dried filament, and never had a print issue from it, whats the point of drying it? less layer lines or something? im genuinely asking.

Im stupid and thats simple .. how redneck is that ?? Lmao😂

Absolutely fantastic!!! Thank you!

electricity is NOT free.

you can also use heated bed for other stuff. i've seen people using it to culture youghurt (needs 42 C) or to warm up PCB etchant liquid ferric chloride (etching can be further sped up by swinging bed back and forth using g-code, therefore stirring the etching bath slightly - poor mans stir plate)

The thumbs up button wasn't enough. I love things that are smart and save me money. Thank you so very much.